According to some reports, the wave face measured about 100 feet, a mark that tow-surfers (who are pulled onto waves behind personal watercraft) set years ago as a target many thought was unachievable.

The enormous surf was generated by the St. Jude's Storm and lured some of the world's top big-wave surfers to Nazare, Portugal, to ride the massive and dangerous peaks.

Before Burle's ride, Maya Gabeira, who is the world's premier female big-wave charger, suffered a wipeout and would have drowned were it not for Burle, who performed a prolonged and dramatic rescue on his jet-powered vessel.

Gabeira was pulled from the water unconscious and with a broken ankle. Burle performed CPR on the athlete before she was rushed to a hospital. Later on Monday she stated on her Facebook page: "Thank you for caring … a broken ankle, but nothing more! I'm recovering well. Please continue cheering."

She and Burle are among a few dozen tow-surfing teams that chase swells around the world, searching for the largest possible waves.

Although Burle's ride has been reported on network morning shows and in other media reports as a 100-footer and a probable world record, that has not yet been determined.

Bill Sharp, who runs the Billabong XXL Global Big Wave Awards, has told Guinness World Records that rides from other surfers at Nazare on Monday are being considered for entry to Guinness as "Largest Wave Surfed," and that the XXL judging panel won't make a determination until the XXL season is complete in late April, 2014.

"The Carlos Burle wave will be under serious consideration this year because it definitely broke with power and satisfied all the criteria established in the XXL rules, whereas some other rides which gained media attention at the same venue last season did not," Sharp stated. "The XXL rules carefully differentiate between a real breaking wave of consequence and an ocean swell which might rear up for a moment yet never actually break with whitewater chasing the rider.

"The Burle wave at Nazare yesterday (along with rides by Andrew Cotton, Felipe Cesarano, Pedro Viana, Maya Gabeira, and others) definitely met the established criteria that set the base of the wave as being that lowest point on the wave face that either the surfer or the breaking whitewater would reach, and will be judged accordingly."

Oct 28, 2013

Big-wave surfer Maya Gabeira was pulled from the water unconscious Monday after falling while attempting the drop on an enormous wave at Nazaré, Portugal.

The wave buried her for several seconds initially, and she was overcome several times afterward by surging whitewater. Were it not for a relentless rescue effort by her tow-surfing partner, Carlos Burle, Gabeira almost certainly would have drowned.

Instead, she's recovering with only a broken ankle, presumably somewhat humbled by the experience.

"Thank you for caring… a broken ankle, but nothing more!" she wrote Monday on her Facebook page. "I'm recovering well. Please continue cheering."

The top footage shows the wipeout on a wave with a face of perhaps 70 feet. The drop was simply too fast and the wave face was too bumpy for Gabeira to be able to maintain balance.

A Portuguese news report (posted below) shows the wipeout and the prolonged rescue effort, during which Gabeira grabs onto the rescue rope and is dragged through the water, when another surge of whitewater overcomes her and causes her to let go of the rope.

It's remarkable that she survived given the amount of time she spent being dragged through the churning water, face-down.

Ultimately, she was hauled onto the beach unconscious, and rushed to a nearby hospital.

The massive swell attracted several of the world's top big-wave surfers. Wave faces measured 60 to 80 feet.

Gabeira is one of only a few woman brave enough–some might say foolish enough–to attempt to ride such large and dangerous surf.

Oct 27, 2013

There have been lots of dramatic finishes during the annual Bisbee's Black and Blue Marlin Tournament in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. But rarely have they involved a female angler, and not until this year has one involved two female anglers.

On Friday evening, after three days of competition between teams from around the world, Linda Williams became the first woman to catch the Black and Blue's winning fish: a 774-pound blue marlin that was delivered to the scale with only 10 minutes remaining in the event.

That gave Team II Success a victory and a $368,675 payday.

Until those final minutes, Martha McNabb held first place because of her catch of a 525-pound marlin a day earlier for Team Retriever. However, McNabb's fish was worth just under $1.2 million ($1,185,862), because Team Retriever had entered more daily jackpots.

Pretty remarkable, considering that the Bisbee's event has been dominated by male anglers since it was first staged in 1981.

"I think this week we showed what lady anglers can do,” Williams, who is from Rancho Cucamonga, said afterward. “We can compete on this level without question.”

Her marlin was the second-heaviest qualifying fish in tournament history.

"This was a fish of a lifetime and one definitely on my bucket list," Williams added. “I love this tournament and I love the people.”

The Bisbee's tournament only allows marlin weighing 300 pounds or more to be weighed. Smaller marlin are supposed to be released.

Depending on the number of entries jackpots entered, the purse varies from year to year. The largest overall cash payout was $4,165,960 in 2006.

The tournament has raised more than $600,000 for local charities, and last year more than $200,000 was donated to charity.

–Photos show marlin caught by Linda Williams (top) of Rancho Cucamonga, and Martha McNabb, who is from the Los Cabos area. Credit: Bisbee's

Oct 25, 2013

In support of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife
and its effort to keep hunters and anglers informed, Pete Thomas
Outdoors, on Thursday or Friday, posts marine biologist Carrie Wilson's
weekly California Outdoors Q&A column:

Question: Is it legal to fish for manta rays in California, specifically in the San Francisco Bay area? (Gina T.)

Answer: Manta rays are generally not found off California, and since they are filter feeders, it may be difficult to persuade one to take your bait. The northernmost limit of their range in the eastern Pacific Ocean is around San Diego, where they are only spotted occasionally. However, if a manta ray were to stray farther north, then yes, it may be legally taken by hook and line off California. I suspect you instead may be referring to bat rays which are more widely distributed and caught fairly regularly on hook and line. If so, they too are legal to take.

Q: Please verify for me the catch limit on California lizardfish. My understanding is the limit is 10 fish/species with a total bag limit of 20 fish of all species. Right? I don’t see this species mentioned as one of the “no limit” species. Lizardfish are being caught 4-5 at a time on the piers on the Central Coast and someone is telling the anglers there is no limit, so keep all you catch. (Rose H., Santa Barbara)

A: You are correct. A bag limit of up to 10 lizardfish per angler is allowed. There are no size or season restrictions for these fish though.

Q: I’ve inherited a white polar bear rug that has been in the family for 30-40 years. I have no papers or receipts for it. Can I still sell it? (Christian P., Tulare)

Oct 24, 2013

Mark Healey, a big-wave surfer and passionate freediver, is seen stiff-arming a tiger shark in the accompanying photo and video (video posted below).

What's not shown is Healey riding the same tiger shark 30 minutes before he issued the football move to the advancing predator.

A handful of freedivers have recently taken to riding sharks by gently grabbing onto their dorsal fins, and Healey was asked by Surfing magazine why he does this and whether it's a smart idea. He answered: "The whole point of doing it is to make people think about how they perceive sharks. If more people are feeling comfortable with sharks and seeing them in different ways, then that's a good thing."

What he means, and what other freedivers have tried to explain, is that this is one way to show that sharks are not the bloodthirsty killers many people still believe them to be.

Sharks most definitely are not bloodthirsty man-eaters. But by riding large sharks–including great whites–freedivers appear to be taking for granted that these wild creatures are never going to turn and bite in response to this kind of intrusion.

However, Healey, who lives in Hawaii and has spent much of his life in the ocean, might be smarter than some people think.

When asked by Surfing if he thinks "someone who's inexperienced will get hurt trying something like this," the athlete responded:

"Well, it's a numbers game. The more you're around sharks, the more likely it is you'll get hit."

He added: "But if you’re inexperienced, you’ll probably be all skittish and scare the shark away, anyway. Because it’s not like you’re forcing them to do anything, they make the conscious decision to let you be there with them. But at the end of the day it’s natural selection."

Healey recalled that he was once asked by Surfing magazine how surfers can prevent more deaths in big waves, and said that answer applies with shark diving as well.

"The answer is to stop surfing big waves. That’s basically it," he said. "Because you can dance next to the fire in a calculated way but there’s a certain amount of risk that will never be taken out of the equation. These things aren’t safe and they never will be."

That said, Healey is eagerly anticipating the winter surfing season and the swells it brings. The bigger, the better...

Dorado, or mahi-mahi, are prized for the flesh as much as for their fight.

But as far as a Cabo San Lucas sea lion named Pancho is concerned, why bother with the fight if you can steal one that has already been caught?

The accompanying footage was captured earlier this month in Cabo San Lucas. To some degree it appears to be staged, meaning that the pair might have known about the bold sea lion's presence and expected this to happen.

But Mike "the Griz" Ritz (the angler pictured at left), assured via YouTube message that the great sea lion caper was not staged. Pancho is a regular in the marina and generally goes after leftover bait, not game fish.

"Maybe people think this is staged, but what really is happening is that we were taking pictures of our trophy fish after a long day of fishing," the Griz explains. "Pancho normally gets the bait that is left over from fishing, and lives in another part of the marina, so we never expected this to happen!"

This could be true. After all, the angler holding the bull dorado before it gets pilfered is gripping its tail very close to where the sea lion bites. Would he have risked severe injury just for the sake of this fun video clip?

Maybe. People do crazy things in Cabo.

In any event, it made Pancho's day, while the poor pelican watching closely from the dock got nothing.

Watch between 25 and 30 seconds as three bears, all pawing at a camera on a tree trunk, are scattered briefly by the flashing unit. Another camera-destroying team effort begins at about 48 seconds.

Lilian Painter, a Wildlife Conservation Society biologist, is quoted in Mongabay as saying, "Andean bears are very curious animals. "But they are also very strong, and the cameras are like big, flashing toys. Still we were able to record important images that will allow us to better understand their distribution, abundance and behavior, and conserve these delightful bEars into the future."

Andean bears, also called spectacled bears, are South America's only bear species, and are listed as "vulnerable" by the ICUN Red List, facing threats that include deforestation, mining and poaching.

They inhabit the forested mountains of Bolivia, Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. Their preferred habitat is high-altitude grasslands and dense cloud forests.

Because the favor steep, remote regions, they are rarely seen, and revered by some Andean indigenous tribes as spiritual mediators, according to the WCS.

Recent population estimates place the number of wild Andean bears at about 18,000.

Oct 23, 2013

There are close whale encounters, and there are really close whale encounters. But rarely, if ever, does anything like this happen.

The accompanying footage shows cameraman Chris Coates being approached by a mother humpback whale and her calf, and slapped in the head–either accidentally or on purpose–by the larger whale's pectoral fin .

Viewers can hear Coates mumbling his concern as the whale approached and after it connected.

The incident occurred during a freediving expedition off the east coast of Africa. Coates, 38, and his group had been seeing whales throughout most of the day, but did not anticipate anything like this.

Coates was not injured and described the physical contact to JukinVideo's Mike Skogmo.

"The whale hit me on the head and hand," he said. "I could feel its barnacles scraping over my forehead. The slap with the fin was quite hard, but I don’t think it was trying to hurt me or it would have been way harder. It also must have hit the camera because it hit my hand that was holding the camera."

Oct 22, 2013

Just about anyone can capture a quality sunset image, but it's a special moment when a photographer can capture a blaze-orange sunset with whales in the frame.

This is especially true when one of the whales is diving, and the sea water pouring from its fluke is the color of lava.

The accompanying image was captured by Katie Dunbar, a naturalist for Monterey Bay Whale Watch. Understandably, it was widely shared on Facebook.

"The singular moment was amazing," she said. "For me it sums up the phenomenon of the concentration of humpbacks. In one moment there were three whales with the setting sun, and normally we are lucky to see just one!

"As a biologist of course I am thrilled to see so many whales here to feed, the abundance of a recovering species. But as an artist I relish the opportunity to see such beautiful creatures, especially in such aesthetic conditions."

Hundreds of humpback whales have been feeding in Monterey Bay for more than a month, lured by a phenomenal showing of anchovies.

Dunbar said the image was not photoshopped.

"I literally didn't do any editing, it's just cropped for composition and rotated to have a straight horizon line," she said, adding that she used a Canon 7D with a 70-200mm f/4L USM lens."

Monterey Bay Whale Watch, commenting on its Facebook page, wrote: "It was the perfect end to a perfect day."